Chapter 62 - The Help We Both Need

Legosi rubbed his ankle along Louis', bouncing his other leg. He stared at the infographics on the wall of the waiting room as his claws danced around each other. He reached up and undid another button of his shirt, realized it was too low, then buttoned it again.

The deer sat by his side, looking at the ground. "Quit fidgeting."

Legosi whined and grabbed his wrist. "I hate waiting."

"Why is that?"

"More time for my head to think thoughts." Legosi drummed his fingers on the cervid's wrist, gently.

Louis leaned on him. "And what are you thinking? Maybe I can assuage some of these thoughts."

"Well, I know we have to talk to the therapist, but there are also things we can't talk about, and I'm worried that I might accidentally talk about it."

"So talk about it now. Get it out."

"Well...I just want to know where external problems end and our problems begin. I guess we just have to try and get back into the mindset of...after the hospitals and before this whole Ichi business..."

"And what mindset is that?" Louis asked.

"Um...wondering how we can move forward in our lives and address our issues so something like that never happens again." Legosi began to trace his claws gently up and down Louis' arm.

The deer always loved the sensation of that. "Well, that's what we're here to get help with."

"Yeah...it's just like...hard to remember it with the current thing going on," Legosi sighed.

"I will make sure I don't talk about it. Keep the conversation on us and our love."

Legosi nodded. "I wonder what kind of questions she'll ask. Or maybe she won't even ask questions."

"My biggest concern is that this won't help at all. Even if we aren't paying for it, it would still be a waste of time if it didn't."

The wolf stroked his husband's arm more. "I'm sure it'll at least help a little bit..."

"Well, even if this is a bust, we have all night together." Louis moved a finger up his chest.

Legosi smiled. "Yeah. Oh, and Mel-san said he wanted to start a website for the shop and I thought I should ask Kai about that, but he might be too busy..."

"I think you should ask him. He'll make time."

"Maybe he could even teach me a few things. Always good to have more skills." Legosi leaned in and nuzzled Louis.

"Like a hobby." Louis kissed the side of his muzzle.

"It'd be a good way to spend free time. I could start drawing more too. And we could maybe get a game console. Maybe I should write all of this down." Legosi swayed in his seat and looked up at the ceiling.

"Oh, right. It was fun while we had the Gamestation. It's too bad we didn't use it as much as we could have."

"Yeah, I don't think Durham would let us keep it. Probably for the best, since you'd probably destroy the apartment if we played anything together..."

"At least I'd win." Louis kissed down his muzzle more. Luckily, there was no one else in the waiting room.

"You'd cheat," Legosi said with a soft smile.

"But the game doesn't know that," Louis grinned. "Meaning I'd win."

"The game doesn't have a brain, dear..."

"Weh-I know that! That was my point!" He sat back.

Legosi laughed, softly, observing his deer. He had been shaken up Sunday, but seemed a bit better when he got home from work. Today, he seemed almost normal, but the wolf knew how the deer could wear masks.

Louis shook his head. "My point is, if the game says that I win, it doesn't matter how I did it."

Legosi looked at him and gave him puppy dog eyes. "It matters...to me..."

Louis blinked. "Don't make that face at me..."

Legosi blinked, as well, and continued. His cute nose wiggled.

The buck turned his head. "Stooooooop..."

Legosi snuffed and laid his head on Louis' arm, looking up at him.

The deer couldn't look away. "Quit it, Legosi..."

The wolf's tongue stuck out, slightly.

"No. No, no, no. Not the tongue," Louis cried.

The tongue touched the fur on Louis' arm and started to lick.

"Quit it, Legosi! You're cheating because you know my weakness is canines!"

The tongue retracted and he smiled, toothily. "Now we're both cheaters."

"Hmph...It's no fun when I lose."

The door opened and a doe stepped out. "Legosi and Louis?"

Louis looked up. Of course, it would be a deer. She was recommended by his father, after all.

Legosi's ears perked up and he cocked his head. Was that their therapist? If she was then this might not be so bad, since talking to a deer was what he did best.

Her eyes landed on them. "Is that you two?"

"It is," Louis stood up.

Legosi stood with him. "It's us."

"Hi! I'm Rikona. Why don't you come on to the back and we'll begin?"

Legosi nodded. "Okay."

They traveled down a hallway and to the left, reaching a door at the end of the hall which led into a small room.

Inside, there was a couch with a crazy pattern on it next to a lamp with 5 different colors of shades. The bulbs themselves gave off a dim light.

On the other side of the couch was a shelf with an assortment of knick-knacks, a basket full of stress toys, some pictures of a younger doe, and on the bottom rack was a box filled with an assortment of snacks.

Across from the couch, there was a single love seat, in which Rikona would sit. The front of the brown arms were lined with golden circles. Next to the couch was a plant.

Along the walls were various photos of flowers, architecture, and Rikona's license as a psychologist. There was only one window in the room, with the blinds pulled down. There were also inspirational posters around. The one that caught the couple's eyes was a small one with a rainbow on it, explaining that this was a safe space.

Overall, the room had a warm and comforting feeling, and as Louis and Legosi sat down on the soft fabric of the couch and it sunk in, some of their fears were already being relieved.

Rikona sat across from them, holding a clipboard and a pen, which she laid her hands flat on.

She was wearing a yellow floral print shirt with the top button undone and a dark blue skirt that went down just below her knees. On her face, she had black rimmed glasses that sat on the bridge of her muzzle and two piercings on each of her ears, one green and one gold. The shoes she was wearing were black flats, but now she took them off, making herself comfortable.

The smile on her face never left as she leaned in a bit. "Now, before we get into your application, tell me a bit about yourselves."

Legosi fidgeted and looked over at Louis, seeing if he was going to speak first.

The deer leaned against his elbow on the arm of the couch as he took a moment to think.

"That's okay. Take your time," Rikona said, sitting back.

Legosi cleared his throat. "W-well, I'm Legosi. I'm a gray wolf, but my grandpa is a komodo dragon. I like insects and stage sets and, um..." he looked over at Louis, "I found out recently I'm attracted to herbivores and, um, specifically male herbivores and Louis and I have been together since last fall."

The buck nodded. "I'm Louis, I'm a red deer. I see that you're a white-tailed deer. Very nice. I enjoy cooking and watching films. I am attracted to carnivores and herbivores, but most of all, canines."

"Well, before we begin, I just want you to know that there are no judgments from me. You are both animals and we'll be treated as such. It is my job as a therapist to help you through your issues and I will do so without any personal bias," the doe explained.

Legosi nodded and fidgeted. Did that mean she had personal biases? Did she not approve of them?

She leaned in again and lowered her voice. "But if you must know, I support carniherbi relationships, even though some of my clients don't."

Louis nodded. "That's very good to hear. The last thing we need is another herbivore who doesn't support us."

Legosi let out a breath, visibly relaxing

Rikona sat back. "Now, is there anything you would like to ask me before we get to the documents?" She tapped the clipboard.

Louis shook his head, unsure of how to go about this.

Legosi cocked his head, wondering just how much information was in those documents, but he shook his head as well.

Rikona continued. "Well, I am inclined to inform you that anything you say here is confidential and will not be told to anyone, unless you plan to hurt someone else or yourselves. Louis, since you're 19, you're no longer claimed as a dependent by Oguma, which means I won't inform him of anything you tell me."

Louis nodded. "That's good, at least. We're hoping to just keep everything between the three of us."

The doe looked down. "Alright, we have quite a bit to go over here. How about we begin at the lowest point of the roller coaster? You wrote here that you recently had a breakup. Can you tell me about that?"

Legosi cleared his throat and shifted. He looked to Louis. "Uh, should you, or..."

"Go ahead. I'll go after," Louis spoke.

The wolf let out a deep breath. "Well...it was the beginning of April...and Louis heard some, uh, really bad news and blamed himself for it. He then said we shouldn't see each other anymore because he was bad for me. He had to go to the hospital. That's why his antlers aren't in right now."

"And what was this news?" She was already writing notes.

"Well...um...a friend of his lost his brother."

Louis nodded.

Rikona tilted her head. "And why do you blame yourself for this, Louis?"

The male deer sighed. "Because...we used him to escape from my father and he lost his job when he needed the money to take care of his brother..."

"I'm sorry? Used him? Can you explain?" She held the tip of her pen to the paper.

"We had him cut off the communications in the building so that way the police couldn't be called while we escaped."

"You keep using the word escape. Why did you feel the need to escape from your father?"

"Well, my father basically locked me in my room there for three months and I was very unhappy. Legosi actually climbed the building to save me. Can you believe that?" Louis smiled a bit as he said this.

Rikona blinked. "Climbed the building? Wow. You must have really wanted to see him."

Legosi nodded, his tail wagging. "We had just become friends right before he was taken. I couldn't just let him go like that."

"Most people wouldn't lift a finger to help animals they consider acquaintances."

"Well he was my friend! He spilled everything to me, and I had saved his life. I also knew I was in love with him, so that tied into it, too," the wolf explained, trying to fit everything in.

"You were in love after just becoming friends?" the therapist asked.

Legosi huffed. "W-well, I had a crush on him for quite a while before that!"

"So you were friends before that?"

Louis was grinning into his hand.

The wolf shook his head. "N-no! We knew each other for years, but we never spoke to each other. Then we started...running into each other more and he...didn't like me, but soon we started to understand each other more and we started meeting up and talking. So we became friends, then."

"And did he not like you because you were a carnivore?"

Legosi let out a few noises before answering. "Well...I guess so? I'm not even one hundred percent sure..."

"I disliked him because, at the time, I was fit to become a Beastar," Louis began. "I had to work hard to have an ounce of strength, thanks to being a herbivore. He was born with natural strength, but he never used it. That frustrated me to no end."

"Go on."

"But I realize that we are all strong in different ways. Before he saved me from my father, he saved me when I got kidnapped."

Rikona's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

Legosi nodded. "Yeah, it was all over the news last summer. Three carnivores kidnapped him because of his shot at Beastar."

"And yet, a carnivore saved you."

Louis nodded. "Yes."

"That must say something, yes?"

"Of course. And we've only been judged by herbivores who fear carnivores."

"We'll get to that later," Rikona said. "I want to get back on track with our previous topic. In your application, it says you both have mental health issues. Louis, depression, and Legosi, dependency issues. Legosi, can you tell me a little about when that started?"

Legosi brought his claws together. "Well, when Louis said we shouldn't be together anymore, I sort of, well, freaked out. I don't even really remember what happened, exactly. I hurt myself and could barely function for a few days. My neighbor had to take care of me."

"Why do you think it is that you hurt yourself? Can you recall any dependency issues before then?"

"Well...I remember I was hurting so much inside...mentally...I didn't know what else to do other than claw up my arms. And, uh, I'm not sure about that other question."

"That's alright. Louis, can you remember if Legosi ever had any strong dependency issues?"

The buck thought for a moment. "Well, aside from missing each other all the time in a cute couple sort of way, not really. He's never threatened to harm himself if I left, or anything like that. Once I broke up with him, we both found out the hard way how dependent we are on one another."

Rikona nodded, writing as she spoke. "Some would say that too much dependency on your partner is a bad thing. In your case, it's unhealthy to the point of being dangerous." As their faces drooped, she waved her hands. "That doesn't mean you two aren't good for each other! It just means you are young and don't fully understand yet. But we can work through it, together."

"Well!" Legosi raised a finger. "I got a job recently and my hours increased, so we don't see each other as much! And it's like, okay!"

"Oh, that's great! And what's your job?"

"I work at an insect shop at the mall. I started working there right before the breakup."

"That's great. You love bugs, so it makes sense," she smiled. She turned her head. "So, Louis, your depression. When did it begin?"

The deer sighed. "Pretty early, actually. I was sold as livestock in the black market and once my father adopted me, he built my whole future for me. I still felt trapped, I guess. I realized I got sad a lot, but I didn't really understand why until I was older."

Legosi wrapped a large hand around his bicep, squeezing lightly.

"Often, that's how it is," Rikona stated. "But you understand it, now. It makes total sense, knowing everything you have gone through. Tell me, have you ever contemplated suicide?"

"Yes," Louis looked down.

"Have you ever attempted?"

"Yes."

"Do you have plans to kill yourself at the moment?"

"...No."

"Do you think you will want to kill yourself tomorrow?"

"I don't know."

Legosi started to fidget uncomfortably as soon as suicide was brought up, looking out the window and rubbing his palms on his knees.

Rikona pulled out a piece of paper and clipped it to the board, turning it and holding it out to Louis. "Would you please sign this?"

The buck took it. "What is it?"

"It's like a contract. It tells me you won't commit suicide before the next time we meet. I will have you sign one of these every time."

Rikona pulled out a piece of paper and clipped it to the board, turning it and holding it out to Louis. "Would you please sign this?"

The buck took it. "What is it?"

"It's like a contract. It tells me you won't commit suicide before the next time we meet. I will have you sign one of these every time."

Louis grabbed it. "It's just a piece of paper."

"Some people feel an obligation to the contract. It's like a responsibility. It's also required of me."

Louis signed his name. "Alright, then."

She took the clipboard back. "So, what do you two feel like your main issue is? Essentially, why are you here?"

Legosi looked at Louis, seeing if he would speak first.

"Well, we both clearly have mental issues. I think dependency is our main one," the deer said.

The psychiatrist nodded. "I can also prescribe you antidepressants, if you would like. Keep in mind that you will put on a little weight and it will change your mood."

Louis shook his head. "I think I'm okay right now."

"Right now. Let's talk about that. How have you two been, lately?"

Legosi leapt forward, saving Louis from having to come up with something on the spot. "W-well, I've been okay, but also anxious. I think our relationship is good but I'm afraid of something bad happening again."

"And why do you think that would happen?"

"Because I never thought it could happen, and it did, so how am I supposed to know it won't happen again?"

"We can never really know what's going to happen, that's correct, but we can find ways to try and prevent it. Have you guys been regularly sitting down and talking about your relationship?"

Louis shrugged. "We're both pretty busy..."

"Oh? Do you have a job?"

"I work in a warehouse almost every day."

Legosi nodded, as if to add validity to the claim.

"Well, I won't push, but it might be good to sit down at least once a week and talk about where you are in your relationship. How you're both feeling, fears, etcetera," she explained.

Legosi nodded again. "We've tried to be more open ever since the incident."

"And we have been doing a really good job. We tell each other everything now," Louis explained.

"That's already a good first step," Rikona continued writing. "It's funny. A lot of couples often have issues because they aren't communicating."

"Well, that was a problem for us, but like we said, it's gotten better," Legosi informed.

Rikona shifted. "Let's go back to the dependency issue. Do you believe you would kill yourself if Legosi left you, Louis?"

"I think so...I don't want to live without him."

"And Legosi?"

Legosi rubbed his palms on his, knees harder. "Uh, um, I don't want him to."

"Don't want him to what?"

"Kill himself if I died."

"Would you if he did?"

Legosi cleared his throat. "I, um, I..." He looked at Louis. "I don't know. I couldn't do that...not to my grandpa, but I don't know..."

Louis looked at him with a worried expression.

"It's okay Legosi. You're safe," Rikona said.

"Um, maybe I should tell you. My mom killed herself when I was 12."

Rikona blinked. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Legosi simply nodded. "It scares me, to think of anybody doing that."

"More often than not, people feel like there is no point in going on. I think that you and Louis should try and find more reasons than just each other to live for."

"Does that mean hobbies?" the dog asked.

"Hobbies might be good. Socializing with other friends as well."

Legosi chuckled. "We have so many friends it's hard to keep up with them all. We're trying to plan meetings right now."

"That's good! Louis, you said you enjoy cooking? That might be something to do more."

"Oh, yes, I guess I should...I try and make all our meals when I can."

"He's really good, too! His food is the tastiest!" Legosi exclaimed. "I cook sometimes, too, when he's out late."

"Of course. Let's both set a goal for ourselves to try and work toward."

The wolf's ear flicked. "Like what, Rikona-san?"

"Make a goal to work on yourselves, separately, so that when you come together, you've improved for the other."

Louis nodded. "I do want to get to the point where I don't feel like killing myself when I'm separated from him, but he's my husband, so it's hard..."

"Oh? You're married?" the therapist asked.

Legosi nodded. "We say we are, so we are. At least, that's what we figured. If society was going to make it hard for us to actually get married, we'd get married without society."

"With everything you two have gone through, it would make sense you'd do something like that. But even married couples are still individuals that are part of a duo. Legosi, if you died, what would you want Louis to do?"

"I'd want him to live," he answered without hesitation.

Louis looked at him. "You would?"

"Of course I would! Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I don't think I could go on living without you..."

Rikona nodded. "And that's what we're here to change."

"There's all of our friends and my grandpa, Louis! They'd support you."

The buck frowned. "But knowing you're gone..."

"Don't be afraid to shed tears here," Rikona said. "Many of my patients do."

"I'd be gone, but my wish would be for you to live!"

"But I'd be so lonely!"

Legosi whined. "I'll be there still! I would somehow stay with you even after I'm gone!"

"Only if ghosts exist! Which we don't even know!"

The wolf turned to their therapist. "Rikona-san, wouldn't I be with Louis, still! Like, in his mind!"

"You would be in his heart and memory."

"But he wouldn't be physically with me! It's not the same! I wouldn't feel his arms around me or be able to sleep with him at night!" The danger looming over them was creeping into their session.

Legosi whined and quickly wrapped Louis up in his arms. "I'm here, Lou! I'm not going anywhere. Not for a long time!"

"We never know what could happen!" Louis teared up.

Rikona was writing as this went on. It was important to let the couple talk, themselves, but this was letting her see their issues firsthand.

The wolf kissed below his eye. "It's okay, alright? It's okay."

"It's not okay..." Louis mumbled.

Rikona tilted her head. "We can never know what will happen to our loved ones. I have a daughter who I love very much and, of course, I don't want anything to happen to her, but I can't cloud my mind with negative thoughts. It's the same with death. We'll all die, one day, but we can't spend all our time worrying about it."

As soon as death was brought up, Louis retreated under Legosi's arm.

The canine cuddled him, rubbing his chin on his still growing antlers.

"Is there anything else I should know about?" Rikona asked.

"N-no...just...knowing that one of us will die first is...hard..." Louis barely got out.

Legosi looked over. "Also...I was attacked earlier this year and I think that's what started this."

"There's more? This is a lot more than you had in your application. What happened?"

"Well, we investigated the murder of one of our classmates and when we got close to finding the killer, he attacked me when I was alone. That's why my face has these scars."

Louis hid his muzzle deeper in his underarm. "Mhm..." He wished he could just scream out everything that was happening to them.

Rikona nodded. "I understand that it's a very scary thing when Legosi is in danger. I assume the killer has been caught?"

Legosi nodded. "Yes, he was."

"At least the danger is past you now. I assume all you have is financial danger now, huh?" She joked, trying to lighten the mood.

Louis' nose just buried even deeper.

"Uh, yeah. And our instincts, but that's been getting better," Legosi explained.

"Have you ever had issues with them before?"

The wolf continued to talk, now that the deer was unresponsive. "Yes...but nothing too bad. Nothing like what you see in the news about carniherbi couples."

"Did he get that eyepatch from an accident?"

"No, that was from the kidnapping we told you about earlier," Legosi stated. plainly. "I never put a scratch on him..."

His ears drooped. "But, uh, I have bitten him..."

"Bitten him? When?"

"When we're, uh, intimate. But the last few times I haven't!"

"And do you feel like you want to eat him when you do that?" Rikona asked.

"N-not really. I don't know."

Louis scooted closer. His voice was muffled when he spoke. "He's never tried to hurt me. Legosi is the best."

Rikona sat back. These two are going to need more work than I originally thought.

Legosi shifted, uncomfortably. "W-well, I, uh, um, that's not...true...Remember, Lou? The fountain?"

"But you stopped when you figured out it was me. You always say that every time!"

"But I still hurt you, then! I always talk about it like it never happened but it's just not true. It happened."

"You didn't hurt me!"

"I broke your ankle and cut your arm..." Legosi nuzzled into him.

"..." The deer was silent, staying buried in his armpit. "My point is that you've never tried to hurt me since we've been together..."

"Oh...yeah. That's true." The wolf turned back to the doe. "Um, do you know anything about herbivores having instincts to be eaten? Because Louis will get those."

"I do. I have had my share of carniherbi couples. I find it frustrating they don't teach about it in school."

Legosi smiled. "Yeah! It was pretty scary when we discovered it, especially when we expected the problems to only come from me."

Louis groaned. "But most of the problems come from me...That's why I broke up with him. I didn't want to drag him down."

"But, of course, we learned that we need to be a team." The wolf nuzzled him again.

"Do you still have these feelings, Louis?" Rikona asked.

"..."

"Louis?"

"Yes. All of the time."

Legosi gawked. "Wh-what?"

"I'm sorry." He kept his face in the same place. "I still feel like I'm a problem..."

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" his mate whispered. "You're not a problem, dear! Honest!

"I am! I cause all the problems that we face! You don't bring any issues to the table! Just good mac and cheese!"

Legosi tried not to laugh at that, but the suddenness of it caught him off guard. "B-but that's because I'm so reserved and, uh, kind of a doormat, and that's not good."

"And why do you blame yourself, Louis? What kind of problems are you talking about? Perhaps we can work through this?"

This was falling apart. They shouldn't have come. What kind of idiots were they thinking they could avoid talking about the biggest problem in their lives? Louis stayed silent.

Legosi just rubbed his back, looking into his eye.

"You can talk to me about anything. Is there something you think you can't tell me about? Is someone trying to hurt you?" Rikona asked.

Louis shook his head.

"Is someone trying to hurt Legosi?"

"No!" The walls of the room felt like they were closing in. "I'm going to use the bathroom real quick."

"Alright, that's fine."

The deer got up and left the room.

Legosi stood up, reaching out to him, but then let it fall to his side.

Rikona looked at Legosi. "Something is obviously wrong."

"Y-yeah. He...might not come back."

"What do you mean?"

"This is like when he ran away when he heard the bad news. He left and I couldn't find him, a-and then he went to the hospital and..." the wolf sighed and plopped back down. "I don't want him to leave again..."

"Well, I can safely confirm that you should come back and see me. You guys have a long way to go," Rikona said. "And there is nothing wrong with that. You should go make sure that he hasn't left yet."

"Yeah, let me check." Legosi stood up and walked quickly out of the room, searching for the bathrooms.

Legosi quickly found the door and let out a sigh of relief when he found Louis in there. "Oh, thank goodness you're here!"

Louis turned, having previously been looking in the mirror. "Hey..."

His husband was hugging him in an instant. "Hey..."

The buck smiled. "I'm trying not to freak out this time."

"Yeah...you're okay," Legosi reassured.

"I just need to take deep breaths."

"Should I let go?"

"No." He nuzzled his chest. "Sorry about leaving."

"It's okay. I know it's scary." Legosi dipped his head so it was next to the deer's.

"You are in danger..."

"But once Melon-san comes up with a plan, it'll be okay!"

"Mm...I don't trust him."

"I know he's the leader of a mafia group, but he seemed okay. Plus, he'll actually have the means to face Ichi!"

"They are both something to be cautious about," Louis sighed.

"I'll be careful. Anyway, are we going back?" Legosi asked.

"How do we avoid talking about this?" his mate asked.

Legosi thought. "Well, she said everything is confidential. Maybe we can be vague about it?"

"I thought about that, but I couldn't figure out how..."

"Well, we can figure it out, maybe. We'll be coming back, after all."

"Yeah...Again, sorry for almost losing it back there. I still hate the thought of you dying."

"I won't die, but I guess it's something to talk about in therapy." Legosi licked the side of his face, causing his fur to stick up.

Louis pushed it back down. "Let's go back."

The wolf held Louis by the side and guided him to the room again, even though he was perfectly capable of walking.

Rikona looked up when they walked in. "Oh good, you're still here."

Legosi sat them both down, holding Louis in his lap.

The doe smiled. "Are you alright, Louis?"

The buck nodded. "Yes. I apologize, I just needed to collect myself for a moment."

"Have you ever had any animals do that, Rikona-san?" the canine asked.

"Many times!"

Louis sighed. "What were we talking about before?"

"You seem to blame yourself for the problems in your lives, then I asked you if there is anything you need to tell me."

"Mm..."

Legosi tried to throw a bone. "Well, maybe because of my scars, Louis? You think you're responsible for them?"

"Yeah...that might be it. You hurt yourself because of me. That should never be something that happens."

"And even before that, you might have blamed yourself for being kidnapped, right? And then there was the eating disorder..."

Rikona tilted her head. "Eating disorder?"

"Oop!" Legosi covered his mouth and looked at his husband. "Did you want to talk about that?"

"That's fine," Louis waved his hand, dismissively.

Legosi stared at him, waiting for him to start talking about it. But Louis didn't speak. The dog looked over at Rikona with his ears flicked back. "Well, it hasn't been an issue for a bit, but he used to not eat a lot."

"Anorexia?"she asked.

Louis shook his head. "I had no concerns with weight."

"Then?"

"I guess I just didn't feel like I deserved it..."

"And why is that?"

"I don't know..."

"He eats now, though. He likes to eat what he cooks, and he likes to eat with me." Legosi poked the side of the deer's face with his nose.

Rikona smiled. "It's good that you two are so affectionate. I can tell that you mean a lot to one another. More than a lot."

Louis nodded. "Yeah...More than anything..."

"We've been through a lot together," Legosi reiterated, holding him closer.

"I can tell," Rikona nodded, smoothing out her skirt. "We have a lot of work to do, so I want you to come back and see me at least once a week."

Legosi nodded. "Okay. I work Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends. Louis...he um, his schedule is kind of random."

"Is there any way you can try and get a straight schedule?" the female deer asked.

He shrugged. "I really have no idea. My boss is a wild card."

"Maybe ask him to give you Mondays off," Legosi suggested, voice almost a whisper.

"Alright. And he can bring me in if it's necessary," Louis nodded.

The therapist grinned. "Great. Hopefully, no other misfortune befalls you in the meantime. It sounds like you guys have had it rough."

Legosi nodded. "Yeah, but someday...we'll be okay."

"That's the spirit!"

Louis just looked down.

"So, is that really it for today?" Legosi asked.

Rikona nodded. "For our first meeting, yes. From here on out, they will usually be 30 to 45 minutes. You said Monday, right?"

"Uh, yeah," the wolf confirmed. "I think that will work. Around this time, too?"

"Sounds good!" She wrote one more thing down as she stood up. "Very nice to meet you boys. I hope we can become good friends and I hope you can come to trust me." She held a hand out.

Legosi reached out gently and took it, careful of his claws.

They shook and then Louis went after. "Thank you. Sorry that I broke down a little. I promise it won't happen every time."

Rikona shook her head. "Ah, don't worry about it. Worse breakdowns have happened here. You two have a good day, alright? Remember your contract, Louis."

The buck nodded and looked to his wolf.

Legosi smiled and kissed his forehead. "Come on, let's go home."